Covered flights in this part, shown with the help of Great Circle Mapper:
October 23
Just arrived from Taipei I exchanged my last New Taiwan Dollar in to some Hong Kong Dollars to use for the day. The time was 10:00 at this time, my flight wasn't leaving until 18:50 so a day spent at HKIA was the plan.
I begun by walking to Terminal 2, to which I hadn't been to yet.
T2 was equally nice as T1. Clean, big and spacious.
I spent an hour or so browsing around the terminal, including a small aviation exhibition outside of an IMAX, right in the terminal. Quite interesting:
Soon enough it was time for lunch, so I had some noodles at a restaurant upstairs in T2:
After lunch I went paid the 7.50 HKD it cost me to visit the viewing terrace at T2. It was a student fare, the ordinary price is twice what I paid.
The terrace:
I spent an hour or so at the terrace, looking at some nice and exotic equipment.
The massive HKG terminal:
The Thai A380, quite new at the time:
Nice views:
Of course a lot of CX:
After my spotting session in the heat it was only an hour or two until the check in desks for my QR flight would open, so I went to T1 where I sat down at a seat with my computer, doing OLCI with the provided WiFi and killing some time online for as long as my laptop had energy.
Soon enough it was time for check in to open, and once I reached the check in desks they were just preparing to open.
A few people were already queuing in the economy class check-in queue. Since they had an OLCI bagdrop desk as well, I stood there waiting for check-in to open. This resulted in me being the very first to drop my bag off once the desks opened. I also received my BP's without any problems.
After this it was time to head through security and immigration.
Sequrity was quick and then I was successfully stamped out of Hong Kong for the second time in half a weeks time.
Airside:
Once airside, I snapped a few pictures of some nice aircraft I saw around...
...before heading to the gate assigned for my QR flight to DOH.
Once there I found a power socket station where I plugged in my computer where I used the free WiFi to spend some quality time online.
AF 77W parked nearby:
Soon enough, boarding time was approaching and a queue was building up at the economy boarding line. Again the gate agents checked the documents of the people in the queue before “proper boarding” was commenced.
Not long after we were let down the jetway.
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 1, posted (3 months 2 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 7520 times:
QR817
HKG-DOH
Airbus A330-200
A7-ACH “Al Mafjar”
Down the jetway I went and as I entered the aircraft, I was greeted by the FA's in the galley and directed down the first aisle to the right to get to my seat 38A.
This aircraft had an older interior, which were much more red than the newer one I experienced on my previous two QR flights.
I waltzed down to my seat and sat down. The comfort was okay, quite similar to the newer seat. The legroom was a little worse and the entertainment equipment box was the same size.
The main difference with this interior was the IFE, which could only be controlled though a stationary control panel mounted on the inside on the armrest. Very annoying, it was very difficult to navigate the menus, and it wasn't all as responsive as the IFE in the newer A330's. Although the entertainment offerings seemed to be pretty much the same.
And I mostly spent my time on the airshow anyway:
Boarding didn't take too long. Again a fairly full flight but I did see a few open seats in the back, sadly I got a seatmate though, a Chinese guy.
Boarding didn't take too long but we had to wait for a while before pushing back. This was due to slot restraints IIRC.
Meanwhile the cabin was prepared and the safety video was played. We pushed back some 45 minutes late.
Meanwhile it had gotten dark, so I had difficulties taking pictures as we taxied to the active runway 07R.
We preformed a rolling takeoff, and I decided to make a takeoff video since I knew that any picturetaking would be useless.
It didn't take all too long before we reached a safe height and the cabin lights were turned on.
This was followed by distribution of paper menus and “wake me up for...” stickers.
Also the same kind of amenity kits, although in a different colored bag, was distributed:
Cabin view:
Older overhead panels on this bird also, no airvents sadly:
Seatpocket contents:
After followed the drinks run. I decided to have a beer, and the FA wanted to see ID to check that I was over 18, which I obviously don't mind at all, but she didn't have a very nice tone about it. She did offer me another beer when she passed me later on though so the bad impression didn't last to long.
I had the chicken as hot meal. It didn't look very nice and I wasn't very impressed with the taste either.
The green tea mousse for dessert was interesting and not too bad at all.
The flight was otherwise fairly uneventful, I watched something on the IFE before calling it a night and I begun trying to sleep.
Some Indian city:
Listening to some quality music on my phone as I tried to get some shuteye:
October 24
After a few hours of trying to sleep it was time for the second meal, I again decided on chicken.
It was tastier than the first meal, but still nothing I'd define as a culinary delight.
During descent I was treated with some views of Jebel Ali, south of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.
Shortly after, the Doha arrival video about the transfer process etc. was shown on the PTV's.
For more info on that please refer to part 1 of this trip report series (link at the top).
We soon touched down at DOH and taxied to a remote stand, again on the “wrong” side of the runway, compared to the terminal.
We had arrived the same 45 minutes late as we had departed.
Cabin view during deboarding:
It didn't take long until we could deboard and enter a bus that drove us safely to the transfer terminal.
DOH was quite busy this time around as well, but the security check was again efficient.
FIDS:
Duty free:
Gate area:
Since my transfer time was down by 45 minutes due to the delay I waltzed straight to the gate to wait for boarding. Gate 35 was assigned to the ARN flight this night.
It didn't too take long after I arrived for boarding to be called.
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 2, posted (3 months 2 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 7520 times:
QR91
DOH-ARN
Airbus A330-300
A7-AEN “Jinan”
(Thank you, A.net member QatarA340 for translating the name!)
We didn't have to wait for too long in the downstairs holding pen, but once we got to board a bus we had to wait for quite a while before the bus departed. Quite annoying in an overcrowded bus.
I even overheard a Swedish man saying something in the lines of “Never am I flying with Qatar again, they are treating us like cattle!”.
Once we drove off we did the usual drive around runway threshold to the remote parking positions were the A333 assigned for the nights flight to Stockholm was parked.
This time the bussed dropped us off at the stairs connected to L2 instead of a back door, which had been the standard for me previously at DOH.
Not that I minded it though, since this gave me a nice view of the number 1 engine.
I showed my BP to the FA guarding the door and I was shown to the second aisle on the right. Quite a few steps later I reached my seat 40K in this A333.
View out my window:
This aircraft was clean and had the newer interior, and a much more modern feel to it all with the newer overhead panels and mood lightning as well.
It didn't take very long for boarding to be finished, this was the one of my 4 QR flights on this trip with the worst load. There were plenty of open seats around, including the one next to me. I'd estimate the load to about 50%.
Another amenity kit, same as before but a blue one this time:
The same safety film was shown as we pushed back and begun taxiing.
Takeoff was from runway 33 once again, if I am not mistaken.
Cabin view:
Shortly after the seatbelt sign was turned off and the crew quickly begun the service round. As this was around 5 am for my body, still in Taiwan-time, I was not at all in the mood for a meal, so I was happy when they announced that they were serving a sandwich now and a breakfast before landing.
They soon reached my row and served me a hot wrap.
To go with it I had some sparkling water.
I spent the rest of the flight just sleeping, to the extent it's possible to sleep in an economy class seat. It wasn't too bad at all though considering the calm cabin and the open seat next to me, which allowed me to stretch out somewhat.
Soon enough, a few hours later, some signs of daylight were starting to show outside my window and the crew announced the imminent breakfast service. The menu was displayed on the PTV's.
I was still not really in the mood for something to eat, but when I read about the pancake dish I immediately changed my mind. The whole ensemble sounded great.
Airshow as seen while waiting for the service:
No doubt what I chose for breakfast once they reached my row. It doesn't look great but I can assure you that this meal was very tasty and suited my needs perfectly at that time.
I had some sparkling water again to go with the dish.
View out my window:
Soon enough the trash were cleared, as we were above the Baltic sea, and we commenced descent.
Cabin view:
Good to know:
Our route:
The weather in Sweden was cloudy, so it didn't take too long before we entered the cloud layer.
A little twisting and turning followed and we soon approached Arlanda from the north. The very same second as I saw Swedish land for the first time in over a week, I could hear the engines on our A330 spool up once again. We had aborted our landing attempt. I'd estimate we were about 100-150 meters above ground when we once again begun climbing.
We were once again in the land of clouds but I did see some parts of Arlanda, such as runway 08/26, flash by beneath us and the clouds.
The cockpit crew came on the mike to explain what had happened and why we did the go-around, as he called it, myself I'm not sure if it would be defined as a go-around or aborted approach.
I didn't quite catch the exact reason for the go-around though, but I gathered it was due to the weather.
In between the cloud layers once again:
We soon found ourselves on approach to ARN's 19L once again, after flying around Arlanda east of the airport.
This time the landing attempt went better and we touched down pretty much on time.
We taxied to a gate at the end of the F-pier, I thanked the crew as I left the aircraft. Deboarding didn't take long with the fairly light load.
My first trip leaving Europe had now come to an end.
To sum things up,
The trip was a major success. I had a blast visiting Hong Kong and Taipei and flew some interesting airlines along the way.
For further end-comments of the other airlines please refer to previous parts of this TR-series.
The return trip on Qatar was similar to the outbound journey, and I was pleased with all of my 4 QR flights. They are a great airline, and the overall experience is likely to improve even more when the new Doha airport opens.
I have to say though, I am not a huge fan of changing planes in the middle of the night.
Thank you all for reading my trip report, I hope you have enjoyed it.
My next report should cover two short hops on the 717 I did to try Blue1 out as a separate airline before they became “just” a production company for SAS.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6190 posts, RR: 79 Reply 3, posted (3 months 2 weeks 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 7426 times:
Hi Martin,
great last part of your Asia series! Spotting at HKG is awesome, but it can become very windy on that observation deck.
QR looks good in general, but I find the catering disappointing. EK is still far ahead in terms of catering - and QR's IFE system is far behind ice, too.
Btw - congratulations on getting the oldest A330 in the fleet.
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): I had the chicken as hot meal. It didn't look very nice and I wasn't very impressed with the taste either.
That looks very messy...
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 2): We didn't have to wait for too long in the downstairs holding pen, but once we got to board a bus we had to wait for quite a while before the bus departed. Quite annoying in an overcrowded bus.
I even overheard a Swedish man saying something in the lines of “Never am I flying with Qatar again, they are treating us like cattle!”.
I don't like bus rides at DOH either. Hopefully the new airport will finally be completed this year.
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): A little twisting and turning followed and we soon approached Arlanda from the north. The very same second as I saw Swedish land for the first time in over a week, I could hear the engines on our A330 spool up once again. We had aborted our landing attempt. I'd estimate we were about 100-150 meters above ground when we once again begun climbing.
Nice!
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): I have to say though, I am not a huge fan of changing planes in the middle of the night.
nethkt From Thailand, joined Apr 2001, 985 posts, RR: 3 Reply 4, posted (3 months 2 weeks 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 6327 times:
Thank you for sharing your long journey from Hong Kong back to Sweden on Qatar.
I'm a not a big fan of QR having flown them last year on a dirt cheap promo ticket BKK-DOH-CPH/CDG-DOH-BKK.
New aircraft with advance IFEs, and all 4 flights were so empty, but I don't think they are 5 stars.
One easy example, look at the meal tray, it's all plastic, I'm sure packaged food at supermarket are presented way better.
And the transfer in Doha is a mess, the long bus ride back and forth, people laying all over the airport, water fountain is not enough for passengers and the dining area lacks of options. etc etc...bla bla..
I hope you can catch TG new B777-300ER for your next trip to Asia or perhaps, Phuket!!
I'm not a THAI's PR nor working for them lol
Anyhow, thank you for this great trip report. It's very nicely done.
Don't be annoyed knowing the passengers around you are non-revs and op-upgraders, be grateful for them. Life is beautifu
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): After followed the drinks run. I decided to have a beer, and the FA wanted to see ID to check that I was over 18, which I obviously don't mind at all, but she didn't have a very nice tone about it. She did offer me another beer when she passed me later on though so the bad impression didn't last to long.
Very rare for FAs to ID people I think. Only ever happened to me once on SQ when I was about 22 when I asked for a Singapore Sling. I think she was quite embarassed when she saw my actual age!
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): No doubt what I chose for breakfast once they reached my row. It doesn't look great but I can assure you that this meal was very tasty and suited my needs perfectly at that time.
I had nearly the same on my connection to LHR from HKG....their pancakes are very tasty! Shame you didn't like the other food.
adamspotter From Netherlands, joined Feb 2011, 776 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (3 months 2 weeks 4 days 11 hours ago) and read 5687 times:
Hi Martin!
Great to see the last part of your Asia trip online! Another enjoyable report with many nice pictures, well done
Nice spotting pictures at HKG, it sure has lots of interesting and great traffic!
QR looks quite good here except for the food, not all too impressive for a 5* carrier!
Thank you very much for putting this series together, I definetely enjoyed all 3 reports
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): Soon enough it was time for lunch, so I had some noodles at a restaurant upstairs in T2
FLIEGER67 From Turkey, joined Sep 2003, 4387 posts, RR: 57 Reply 7, posted (3 months 2 weeks 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 5422 times:
Hey, M.,
good to follow you´re final QR story.
Always interesting to see some pictures from HKG, on schedule here during the next days.
But not on QR this time.
Doha looks like busy as usual.
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 8, posted (3 months 2 weeks 4 days 6 hours ago) and read 5353 times:
Hi everyone, and thanks a lot for the comments!
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3): great last part of your Asia series! Spotting at HKG is awesome, but it can become very windy on that observation deck.
Thanks, PH! It was cool indeed, interesting traffic, I can imagine it can get windy though.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
QR looks good in general, but I find the catering disappointing. EK is still far ahead in terms of catering - and QR's IFE system is far behind ice, too.
Indeed, the catering wasn't really 5 star. I found TK's catering more impressive when I flew them in December.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3): Btw - congratulations on getting the oldest A330 in the fleet.
Thanks!
Quoting nethkt (Reply 4): Thank you for sharing your long journey from Hong Kong back to Sweden on Qatar.
Thanks for commenting!
Quoting nethkt (Reply 4): One easy example, look at the meal tray, it's all plastic, I'm sure packaged food at supermarket are presented way better.
Indeed, not very impressed by QR catering.
Quoting nethkt (Reply 4):
I hope you can catch TG new B777-300ER for your next trip to Asia or perhaps, Phuket!!
I'm not a THAI's PR nor working for them lol
I flew TG when I was a kid, I'd love to fly them again!
Quoting nethkt (Reply 4): Anyhow, thank you for this great trip report. It's very nicely done.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 5): Very rare for FAs to ID people I think. Only ever happened to me once on SQ when I was about 22 when I asked for a Singapore Sling. I think she was quite embarassed when she saw my actual age!
This was the second time I was asked for ID on a plane, first time was a couple of weeks after I turned 18, on BA in C when I ordered my first ever Champagne, haha.
Quoting gabrielchew (Reply 5): I had nearly the same on my connection to LHR from HKG....their pancakes are very tasty! Shame you didn't like the other food.
The other food was edible but not impressive in any way.
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 6): Great to see the last part of your Asia trip online! Another enjoyable report with many nice pictures, well done
Thanks, Brendan!
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 6): QR looks quite good here except for the food, not all too impressive for a 5* carrier!
Indeed, I was pleased with QR but food could have been better.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 7): good to follow you´re final QR story.
Thanks, Markus!
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 7): Always interesting to see some pictures from HKG, on schedule here during the next days.
knightsofmalta From Malta, joined Nov 2005, 1410 posts, RR: 17 Reply 9, posted (3 months 2 weeks 4 days ago) and read 5103 times:
Hi Martin
Lovely conclusion to the series, good to hear you enjoyed your first foray outside Europe - I guess that means we can expect more reports in the future! To be honest I actually had already started wondering when we'd get the last installment of your adventure.
Those pancakes on the last leg to ARN look rather tasty, I'm quite partial to pancakes myself I must confess. Apart from that, do you know by any chance if the loads between ARN and DOH are always that light or was this simply an unusual occurrence?
roberts87 From Netherlands, joined Dec 2011, 660 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (3 months 2 weeks 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 4882 times:
Nice report Martin!
Thanks for the little tour of Hongkong Airport, seems like a nice place visit or transit though. QR seems okay indeed, but I am not very keen on flying them untill that new airport opens. And I agree with you, transitting in the middle of the night is not a favorite activity of me either!
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): This was followed by distribution of paper menus and “wake me up for...” stickers.
That's interesting. Not something you see often in Y class.
The777Man From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 6082 posts, RR: 56 Reply 11, posted (3 months 2 weeks 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 4882 times:
Hi Martin!
Very nice report with very nice pictures !
Good to see that your return flights were okay on QR as well.
Meals look okay but nothing too special.
I agree; the transfer with bus is very bad but it should be a lot better when the new airport opens soon.
Nice that you got a go-around at ARN. I was there for a few days about two weeks ago.
Looking forward to your next report!
The777Man
Need a Boeing 777 Firing Order....Further to fly....GA, T5, CI and LX 777s
The air looks so thick that you could carve it. But you do get to see some interesting tails at HKG.
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): Again the gate agents checked the documents of the people in the queue before “proper boarding” was commenced.
I notice that EK does the same here in PER. Passport and Boarding pass check to see that they match before you get to the part where it is scanned. Speeds things up quite a bit.
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): which could only be controlled though a stationary control panel mounted on the inside on the armrest.
Sounds very awkward though it avoids hassle that you get with some well-used controls where you can't get the cord back into the slot.
Was any explanation given for the delayed departure?
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 1): This was followed by distribution of paper menus and “wake me up for...” stickers
I like the menu distribution and the stickers are a good idea: EK does (or did) the same.
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 1): but she didn't have a very nice tone about it
The tone of voice makes all the difference but at least she corrected her ways and offered another.
Like others who have commented, I am not too keen on QR's catering. Half of the success of making even the most insipid food taste good (and allowing for the difference that altitude can make to taste sensation) is presentation. QR's looks what it is: cheap. From the flimsy containers to the plastic cutlery the emphasis is on cheap. That is well and good if it translates to lower fares, but other airlines have shown that presentation doesn't have to be too expensive. Still, at least you get something to eat without having to get the credit card out.
Thanks Martin, for sharing your onboard experiences.
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 14, posted (3 months 2 weeks 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 4483 times:
Hi again, and thanks a lot for the additional feedback!
Quoting knightsofmalta (Reply 9): Lovely conclusion to the series, good to hear you enjoyed your first foray outside Europe - I guess that means we can expect more reports in the future!
Thank you, William! And absolutely, I have a backlog, next two reports will be within Europe, but after that I will again cover some long haul flying!
Quoting knightsofmalta (Reply 9): Those pancakes on the last leg to ARN look rather tasty, I'm quite partial to pancakes myself I must confess.
After that experience I'd love to be served pancakes aboard an aircraft again some day.
Quoting knightsofmalta (Reply 9): Apart from that, do you know by any chance if the loads between ARN and DOH are always that light or was this simply an unusual occurrence?
I do believe the loads are usually higher, but I have nothing to back up that statement.
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 10): Thanks for the little tour of Hongkong Airport, seems like a nice place visit or transit though.
Indeed, a great airport in every way.
Quoting The777Man (Reply 11): Very nice report with very nice pictures !
Thanks, T7M!
Quoting The777Man (Reply 11):
I agree; the transfer with bus is very bad but it should be a lot better when the new airport opens soon.
Indeed, the new airport will likely make the whole QR experience a whole lot better.
Quoting Quokkas (Reply 12): The air looks so thick that you could carve it. But you do get to see some interesting tails at HKG.
Yeah, that kind of air is not something you see in Stockholm, that's for sure. Same can be said about the interesting tails, haha.
Quoting Quokkas (Reply 12): I notice that EK does the same here in PER. Passport and Boarding pass check to see that they match before you get to the part where it is scanned. Speeds things up quite a bit.
I can indeed see why they would do so. Hadn't experienced before HKG though, where I got to do it both before my HX and QR flight.
Quoting Quokkas (Reply 12): Sounds very awkward though it avoids hassle that you get with some well-used controls where you can't get the cord back into the slot.
True.
Quoting Quokkas (Reply 12): Was any explanation given for the delayed departure?
Something bland that could mean anything, "Slot issues" or something along those lines.
Quoting Quokkas (Reply 12): Like others who have commented, I am not too keen on QR's catering. Half of the success of making even the most insipid food taste good (and allowing for the difference that altitude can make to taste sensation) is presentation. QR's looks what it is: cheap. From the flimsy containers to the plastic cutlery the emphasis is on cheap. That is well and good if it translates to lower fares, but other airlines have shown that presentation doesn't have to be too expensive. Still, at least you get something to eat without having to get the credit card out.
I very much agree to what you're saying. I flew TK over Christmas, they've got a good thing going, catering wise.
Quoting OA260 (Reply 13): Thanks for this report. Very nice to read your experience on QR . Lovely pics and read.
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 15, posted (3 months 2 weeks 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 4177 times:
Martin, great report on QR again, and bring back memories to me since I flew them also in that period, although on more different aircraft types then you had. I ended up on one of these older A330's also and had issues with the IFE as well. But I didn't mind much about it since it was a nightflight and I slept mostly.
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 2): “Never am I flying with Qatar again, they are treating us like cattle!”.
Well, that is what I thought when I was in a overloaded bus waiting for 20 minutes next to the aircraft which still had closed doors, because the crew was not ready. I thought, where are the '5 stars'?? Definitely not in DOHA. What a crap airport experience. Moreover, the ground staff workers, bus drivers, etc are NOT friendly and just rude. Only when you encounter somebody in QR uniform you can expect a customer minded treatment, is my impression.
Well, it will take a while when I come up with my report, but it will come eventually.
Thanks for sharing,
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
CaptainRed From Germany, joined Oct 2010, 578 posts, RR: 19 Reply 16, posted (3 months 2 weeks 7 hours ago) and read 3789 times:
Hi Martin,
thanks a lot for this great report. Looks like you had a couple of nice flights with QR, with some ups and downs, but overall it seemed to be quite ok.
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): I spent an hour or so browsing around the terminal, including a small aviation exhibition outside of an IMAX, right in the terminal. Quite interesting:
Interesting, good idea with the runway markings on the floor.
Yeah, that's always annoying. The main reason to dislike bus boardings, especially on a long-haul flight when you are tired and only want to get on board and settle down.
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter):
The cockpit crew came on the mike to explain what had happened and why we did the go-around, as he called it, myself I'm not sure if it would be defined as a go-around or aborted approach.
Cool, a go-around is for sure an interesting experience. And if it really was at about 100-150 meters above ground I would definitely call it a go-around. Would be interesting to know the exact reason, since the visibility didn't look too bad on your pictures. Was it very windy?
MSS658 From Belgium, joined Oct 2010, 2212 posts, RR: 14 Reply 17, posted (3 months 1 week 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 3533 times:
Hello Martin
Great report you have got there. Thanks for sharing and welcome back to Sweden!
Qatar does look top notch! However I'm quite surprised about them sending the older 332 to HKG! While still offering a good product it lies behind CX,EK,EY,...
deltamartin From Sweden, joined Dec 2010, 1059 posts, RR: 9 Reply 18, posted (3 months 1 week 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 3303 times:
Hi, and again thanks alot for the additional feedback! Highly appreciated!
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 15): Martin, great report on QR again, and bring back memories to me since I flew them also in that period, although on more different aircraft types then you had.
Thanks, Eric!
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 15): I ended up on one of these older A330's also and had issues with the IFE as well. But I didn't mind much about it since it was a nightflight and I slept mostly.
Yeah same for me, still quite annoying though.
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 15): Well, that is what I thought when I was in a overloaded bus waiting for 20 minutes next to the aircraft which still had closed doors, because the crew was not ready. I thought, where are the '5 stars'?? Definitely not in DOHA. What a crap airport experience. Moreover, the ground staff workers, bus drivers, etc are NOT friendly and just rude. Only when you encounter somebody in QR uniform you can expect a customer minded treatment, is my impression.
Very true. The overall experience will no doubt improve with the NDIA, let's hope the groundstaff will get a boost in attitude with it as well.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 16):
thanks a lot for this great report. Looks like you had a couple of nice flights with QR, with some ups and downs, but overall it seemed to be quite ok.
Thanks, Captain!
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 16):
Hmm, looks a bit empty, and a shame that it was a bit hazy there. But still cool to catch all these interesting planes.
There were a few other spotters next to me, in the shadow, waiting for the next landing aircraft to show up.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 16): But very nice to get two full meal services on a flight like that. Other airlines would only serve a snack or so as the second service.
That's true. And a hot wrap + hot breakfast for the shorter DOH-ARN is very nice as well.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 16): Cool, a go-around is for sure an interesting experience. And if it really was at about 100-150 meters above ground I would definitely call it a go-around. Would be interesting to know the exact reason, since the visibility didn't look too bad on your pictures. Was it very windy?
I didn't get the feeling it was too windy. I believe it was the wind in addition to not too good visibility.
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 17): Great report you have got there
Thanks, Marc!
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 17): Qatar does look top notch! However I'm quite surprised about them sending the older 332 to HKG! While still offering a good product it lies behind CX,EK,EY,...
Especially on the A332 with the older interior on the HKG-DOH leg.
akhmad From Netherlands, joined Sep 2005, 2332 posts, RR: 53 Reply 19, posted (3 months 1 week 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 3273 times:
Hello Martin,
What a delightful report to read! You have brought back the nice memories of flying out from HKG myself. Very nice to experience the airport during daytime through your eys as I was leaving around midnight back then!
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): I begun by walking to Terminal 2, to which I hadn't been to yet.
You didn't miss too much, most of what's there is covered in the pictures. Besides, that's a reason for you to go back to HKG one day.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 19): Oh, did you postpone doing OLCI on purpose? QR OLCI is available at least one day before departure.
I believe I didn't really see the point of doing it earlier, since I already had chosen seats. But I'm glad I did since it allowed me to use the OLCI-line when dropping my bag off.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 19): Did you hold on to that? Paper menus become rare in QR Economy, especially on Europe bound flights!
I do believe I held on to it, it should be somewhere with my aviation stuff, which really need sorting, haha.
Quoting akhmad (Reply 19): Point-and-shoot before anyone noticed.
Indeed, luckily I never had any troubles taking pictures in Doha.
eastafspot From France, joined Jan 2008, 470 posts, RR: 4 Reply 21, posted (2 months 3 weeks 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 2072 times:
Nice last part of your Asia series Martin,
apparently some A330,s are much better than other, the standard should be equally high. not a big deal anyway. meals are well portioned even for night flight that's a good point
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): After lunch I went paid the 7.50 HKD it cost me to visit the viewing terrace at T2. It was a student fare, the ordinary price is twice what I paid.
that's expensive, does it worth a stop there at least?
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 2): I even overheard a Swedish man saying something in the lines of “Never am I flying with Qatar again, they are treating us like cattle!
ahah, not so common to see someone who dislikes QR!
sultanils From Belgium, joined Mar 2010, 1173 posts, RR: 29 Reply 22, posted (2 months 3 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 1868 times:
Hello Martin,
Thanks for this nice descriptive piece. What a contrast in cabin old vs new. And the old one featuring a big lump of an IFE box. Sure this was QR and not AZ Nice spotting pics of HKG. When the weather is not hazy (is it ever?) it is one exciting airport inside out.
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): After lunch I went paid the 7.50 HKD it cost me to visit the viewing terrace at T2. It was a student fare, the ordinary price is twice what I paid.
I always wonder why they charge you for looking at aircraft
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): I decided to have a beer, and the FA wanted to see ID to check that I was over 18, which I obviously don't mind at all, but she didn't have a very nice tone about it.
Hey come on, you sure don't look like a baby? Never heard of that procedure before. In cafés in Belgium, yes, but not on an airline.
Quoting deltamartin (Reply 2): I even overheard a Swedish man saying something in the lines of “Never am I flying with Qatar again, they are treating us like cattle!”
Some people and their stupid stereotype remarks...
Quoting deltamartin (Thread starter): I could hear the engines on our A330 spool up once again. We had aborted our landing attempt. I'd estimate we were about 100-150 meters above ground when we once again begun climbing.
Haha, sadly not. And even if there was they wouldn't be open for the public.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 22): Hey come on, you sure don't look like a baby? Never heard of that procedure before. In cafés in Belgium, yes, but not on an airline.
Well I don't really mind it if they want to make sure, as long as they are nice about it. Which this girls tone wasn't this time.
Quoting flightsimboy (Reply 23): Nice to see this final instalment up here....as usual the deltamartin style. Thanks for sharing
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Nice spotting pics of HKG. When the weather is not hazy (is it ever?) it is one exciting airport inside out.
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